JOHOR BARU: Businesswoman Rohana Ibrahim did not suspect anything amiss when she got a WhatsApp message from a Fire and Rescue Department officer for a food order for 80 people.
The 52-year-old has received many such last minute requests from government agencies before, either for food catering or canopy rentals.
The caller, whose profile picture showed him in a firefighter’s uniform with other firemen posing inside a fire station, claimed to be a fire officer from Muar.
Rohana received the message on July 14 for the catering order at a fire station here the very next day. She said that the man spoke professionally and “seemed to know the government process for ordering food”.
“He asked for my company details for them to prepare the necessary documents for payment,” she said, adding that among the dishes they ordered was asam pedas fish.
Rohana said that the caller also wanted goodie bags, worth RM4,500, for the event which he asked her to purchase from a “friend”.
“He told me to include it in the same invoice when billing the fire department.
“I found it a bit strange when they told me to bank in the money for the goodie bag into an individual account. However as I was rushing to get the order done, I did not pay much attention and paid the RM4,500,” she said.
However, Rohana got a shock when she delivered the food to the fire station the following day. The firemen at the station told her that there were no such event or food order for that day.
“I was the fifth victim to send food to the fire station on that day,” she said, adding that she was unable to contact the phony fire officer or his “friend” who sold the goodie bags.
Rohana ended up donating the catered food. She lodged a police report, estimating her losses to be about RM7,000, including raw material for the food.
“These scammers are confident and sound professional. They even put me to their ‘station chief’ who assured me that payment will be made after the event.
“I hope the police nab these irresponsible people who cheat others. I have never fallen prey to any scams since doing this business,” she said, adding that she would be extra careful when dealing with new customers in the future and will ask for a deposit of 50% before taking new orders.
